Mechanism for treating filled packages



April 26, 1960 A. GRAEFINGHOLT 2,933,868

MECHANISM FOR' TREATING FILLED PACKAGES Filed Oct; 29, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet l M M yw mm m 1 M W uww N Arr i April 26, 1960 A.GRAEFINGHOLT 2,933,868

' MECHANISM FOR TREATING FILLED PACKAGES Filed Oct 29, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 2 April 26, 1960 A. GRAEFINGHOLT 2,

I MECHANISM FOR TREATING FILLED PACKAGES Filed Oct. 29, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 3 a W 7 M 5 WWW W. /M m p m i April '26, 1960 A.GRAEFINGHOLT ,933, 8

MECHANISM FOR TREATING FILLED PACKAGES Filed Oct. 29, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 7

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g'esellscliaft, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Germany, a corpar-arise ofGermany Application October 29, 1958, Serial No. 770,537

Claims priority, application Germany November 14, 1957 10- Claims. (Cl.53--95) .Tlie iiive'ntion relates to a mechanism for packaging. plantsor the like and, more particularly, for evacuating, atidgas-tr'eating,packages which are filled with-various kihds' of contents.

Mechanisms are known which extract by suction any' air remaining in'apackage after filling. Such mechanisrns use anozzle which is introducedinto the package and, where appropriate, then fills the package with aninert gas. These mechanisms, however, are not suitable for use withpackages and charged-in commodities when comparatively large amounts ofair remain in the package after the latter has been filled. In thesecases, the walls of the packageareusually so severely deformed, duringthe evacuation of the remaining air, that the deformation cannot berectified by the subsequent application of-inert gas.

It has, therefore,.becn proposed to evacuate the pickages in a chamberwhich is capable of being closed airtight, and. in which the samepressure is ensured both inside and outside the packages. To increasethe rate of production, a plurality ofsuch chambers have been arrangedon a rotary disc, but the packages have had to be placed in, and takenout of, the individual chambers by hand. I

To dispose of the drawbacks previously encountered, the mechanismaccording to the present invention comprises a plurality of chamberswhich are arranged in a circle and each pivotally mounted on anintermittentlymovable drum. Each chamber is adapted to be closedairtight, and each chamber is adapted to receive a package to betreated. A fixed cam disc or the like cooperates with the passingchambers so that, in each step of the drum, two of the chambers arebrought parallel to one another and perpendicular to a conveyormechanism having holders or the like in which the packages are introduced to the treating mechanism and transported therefrom.Simultaneously with this step, each of the two charnbers is openedsothat a package to be treatedlis pushed from a conveyor holder into oneof the two chambers opened by the pivoting movement and an evacuated, oran evacuated and gas-treated, package is pushed from the other of thesetwo chambers out into the conveyor holder which has been emptied of itspackage during the preceding step.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention one or more pairsof jaws arranged on a siide are used to empty the chambers. At the sametime, the jaws close the packages, by using pressure and heat, duringthe period in which the evacuated or gas-treated packages are extractedfrom the chambers and introduced into the conveyor, holders. Otherfeatures of this inventionare disclosed the following specification.

The mechanism according to the present invention can be built intopackaging plants or the like, such, as filling arid closur'e machines,or wrapping machinesjof standare types. In addition, the mechanismpermits a rapid evacuation and gas-treatment of the filled packages withgssasss Patented Apr. 26, 1960 out requiring any further operatingpersonnel, so that" the output of the parent machine does not have to beFigure 5 is a sideview of thedevice illustrated in- Figure L- Figure 6shows a package which is to be evacuated and I gas-treated by means ofthe mechanism.

Figure: 7 shows, in elevation, a detail of the driving mechanism. I

The mechanism described hereafter is suitable for; the evacuation,gas-treatment and closure of packages, particularly of packages of theform shown in Figure 6. In the example illustrated in the drawing, themechanism is disposed vertically above the conveyor means of a packagingplant.

In more particularity, the mechanism comprises a drum 1- which issecured to a shaft 3 rotatably mounted in a frame? The drum is is movedintermittentlvby a gearing of known type, for example by a Maltese crossgearing; Eight shafts 5 are, for example, rotatably mounted in the drum1, and a casing defining a chamber dis associated with each of them.Attached to each of the shafts 5 are levers 7 having guide pins 8 whichrunv in a groove in a stationary cam disc 9 and determine the positionat all times of the chamber 6' radially of the drum- Thecam disc 9 isfastened to a side wall of the frame 2 and is of a form such that at anyonetime the bottom two chambers ii adjacent and opposite the conveyor Fof a machine (not shown) are rocked successively into a verticalposition so that they stop, during the pause followingeach step in themovement of the drum, directly above two holders 4 of the conveyor Flocated therebeneath (see Figure 1,).

A pair of radial guideways 11 are arrangedat regular intervals aroundthe periphery of the drum 1, these being of anumbercorresponding to thatof the chambers 6. Plates 12 serving as closure covers for thesechambers are displaceably arranged in the guideways 11 and are urgedtowards the chambers 6 by springs 13, Figure 2. Apacking device 14 ofappropriate shape serves to seal eachchamber 6 gas-tight.

Before a: chamber 6 is rocked into a position perpendicular to theconveyor F, the associated plate 12'is 'lifted'by means of guiderails'ftS which are arranged at the two Isides thereof on the frame 2,and have two rollers 16 mounted on. the plates 12 running thereon.

V Each plate 12 remain". in this lifted position for two steps in theintermittent rotary movement, so that the chamber 6 concerned can beemptied, and thereupon immediatelyv re-fille'd.

Packages P, of the form depicted in Figure 6, are conducted by means ofa slide 19 into the chambers 6 and held firmly by clips 21 which arearranged in pairs in the upper end of these chambers. In addition, twopairs of gripper-type distending fingers 23, 24 urged together by aspring 22, are arranged in each chamber 6. One of the disten'dingfingers 23, 24 has at its inner'sidea nose 25 whichengage's in acorresponding're'cess 26 in the other finger. When these fingers areclosed together} the nose 25 engages in a portion A pressed out of-theclosure seams N, N of the package P and pushes the opposite part of theother closure seam into the recess 26. The result of this is that theclosure seamslare held open, this being particularly important for thegas-treat ing process.

The inert gas, when introduced during the gas treatment, flows directlyfrom a nozzle-like tube 27, which is provided for this purpose, into theopening of the package, which is being held open in this way. To preventthe distending fingers 23 interfering with this stream of gas, anopening 29 is provided in the nose 25 of the finger 23. During thecharging and discharging of such chamber 6, the distending fingers 23,24 are forced apart by two pairs of wedges 28 which are secured to rams20 and engage the spring anchorages 32 on these fingers.

Two pairs of gripper jaws 30 are additionally provided, together withthe slide 19, on a common ram 20, and these are opened and shifted overthe closure seams N, N of the package P, as the ram 20 moves upwards, bymeans of bars 31 which reciprocate in timed relation with the machineoperation.

The jaws 30, each of which is heated by an electrical heating element,engage the package P at the two closure seams N, N, and press thesetogether during the period t that the package P is guided out of thechamber 6. As a result of this, the package P is closed by heat sealingduring the conveyed travel thereof.

A plurality of valves 35, 36 which are controlled by fixed cams 37, 37'are installed in each of the two walls of the drum for controlling thesuction and the gas, these successively connecting each chamber 6 firstwith a suction blower or the like and subsequently with a gas container.For this purpose, the valves 35, which are used to control the gassupply, are connected firstly through a flexible conduit 42 to eachchamber 6 and secondly through an opening 28 provided in a wall of thedrum, with an opening 40 in the shaft 3, through which the gas isadmittel from the gas container. The valves 36 controlling the suctionare similarly connected to the chamber 6 through opening 39 in the otherwall of the drum and an opening 41 in the shaft 3 to the suction blower.

The individually-moved parts of the mechanism are driven from anelectric motor 53 which drives a shaft 55 through a chain 54. The shaft55 is coupled through a chain drive 56 to an element 50 of a Maltesecross gear which moves the drum 1 intermittently, cf. Figure 7. The star51 of the Maltese cross gear is arranged directly on one of the twowalls of the drum 1.

The thrust and descending'movement of the ram 20, i.e. of the slide 19and the jaws 30, are controlled by cams 60, 61 secured to a shaft 63which is driven from shaft 55 through a chain drive 62. One of thesecams, viz. 60, produces the thrust movement, whilst the other 61controls the descending movement, and a rotatably-mounted lever 64,which is forked at the end, runs overthese cams, this lever 64 beingconnected at its other end to a link 65 which is articulated to the ram20. This ram is mounted for displacement. on a stationary, vertical post66, whereby the ram will carry out a rectilinear upward and downwardmotion.

The jaws 30 are closed and opened by a cam disc 70 which is also fixedlysecured to the shaft 63. During its rotary movement, this cam disc 70operates the link 31 through a pivotally mounted plate 71 and a couplinglever 72 articulated thereto, so that when the link 31 is in itsforwardly-displaced position, the jaws 30 are opened against the actionof springs 32, and in the retracted position cf the link 31 the jaws 30are closed by these springs.

The operation proceeds as follows:

After the drum 1 and theconveyor mechanism F have moved one step, thelifting slide 19 shifts a package P from a conveyor holder 4 into theleft hand chamber 6 of the two parallel, bottom chambers, and thepackpackage P, which is located in the right hand chamber" 6 and haspreviously been evacuated and gas-treated, at the closure seams N, N andclose it by heat-sealing during the downward movement of ram 20.

During the next-following step, the freshly-charged chamber 6 is pivotedback by the cam 9 into its radial position and is gas-tightly closed bythe associated plate 12. Thereupon the valve 36 is opened by the cam 37,and suction applied to this chamber for a predetermined period, untilthe valve 36 closes again, and the gas valve 35 is then opened to admitthe protective inert gas to The gas valve 35 is re-closed shortly beforethe rocking of the chamber into the discharge this chamber.

position.

To ensure that no air can pass into the package during the opening ofthe chamber 6 and the closing of the packages concerned by the jaws 30,this package is filled with gas at a pressure which is somewhat higherthan that of the outer atmospheric air. The gas following out on openingthe chamber prevents the entry of air into the package, which, at thismoment, is still open.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment which has beenillustrated and described above, but can be implemented in modifiedways.

What I claim is:

1. A gas-filling device for treating filled packages comprising arotatable drum, a plurality of chambers mounted in a circle on saidrotatable drum, means to pivot each of said chambers relative to saiddrum, means to rotate said rotatable drum in predetermined incrementalsteps, means to close each of said chambers airtight, conveyor means atleast part of which is in contiguous relation with said rotatable drumto convey packages to said chambers, a cam disc means cooperating withsaid chambers to turn two chambers parallel to each other andperpendicular to said conveyor means during each step of said drummovement, means on said rotatable drum to open said two chambers duringtheir turning movement, first means adjacent said conveyor means to pusha package from said conveyor means into the leading one of said twochambers, second means adjacent said conveyor means to push a packagefrom the other of said two chambers into said conveyor meanssubstantially simultaneously with the action of said first means, andmeans to apply a suction to each of said two chambers as it is returnedto its radial position after being supplied with a package to betreated.

2. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, including means to introduce aninert gas into a chamber for a predetermined interval of time.

3. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, comprising a reciprocable slideto lift a package from said conveyor means into one of said twochambers, and clip means in the upper end of each chamber to seize andhold a package.

4. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, comprising reciprocable gripperjaws to seize closure seams of each package in a chamber to draw thepackage from the chamber.

5. A mechanism as set forth in claim 4, including means to heat saidgripper jaws to close each package by heat-sealing.

6. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, wherein a closure plate isprovided for each chamber at the periphery of said rotatable drum toclose each chamber when in a radial position, means adjacent eachclosure plate to press each closure plate airtight against theassociated chamber, and means to lift each closure plate from theassociated chamber when two chambers are pivoted perpendicular to saidconveyor means.

7. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, including spring-urged pairs ofgripper means at opposite inner sides of each chamber, a nose formed onat least one of said gripper means, the other gripper means of each pairbeing formed with a recess to receive said nose.

8. A mechanism as set forth in claim 7, including a nozzle-type tube toinject a stream of inert gas into said package to be treated.

9. A mechanism as set forth in claim l, including spring clip means ineach of said chambers to hold a package in a fixed position within thechamber.

10. A mechanism as set forth in claim 1, including a plurality of valvemeans arranged in two coaxial circles at opposite sides of saidrotatable drum, cam means positioned adjacent said drum to actuate saidvalve means for controlling the feed of inert gas and of suction air toeach of said chambers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,130,761 Bickford Sept. 20, 1938 2,482,609 Berch Sept. 20, 19492,570,956 Kronquest Oct. 9, 1951 2,729,378 Pujol y Font Jan. 3, 1956

